Teenage Mutant Ninja Warehouse
by DoctorMcCrimmon
Summary: Reports that anthropomorphised dog and fish are breaking into labs across New York City brings Warehouse Agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering there to investigate. What that find is weirder than anything even in the Warehouse Manual. (Rated for action scenes and some innuendo.)


Teenage Mutant Ninja Warehouse  
(TMNT/Warehouse 13 crossover Fic)

Things were fairly quiet around Leena's B&B. Even though Leena was gone, her name was still on the small town Bed and Breakfast that served as home to the secret government agents of Warehouse 13. The new owner, Abigail Cho, sat outside, enjoying the fresh spring air, and a couple of scones from the local bakery. A newspaper sat on the table beside the scones, crossword half done.

"Do I smell scones?" The familiar (and perpetually ravenous) voice of Agent Pete Lattimer preluded him as he strolled through the sliding glass doors into the little garden beyond. Potted plants and bushes created a gentle, serene feel around the metal and glass table and matching chairs, where proprietor and her breakfast were currently sitting. In his usual childlike manner, Pete reached for one of the scones, not even asking for one. /The 'Do I smell scones' was request enough./ Faster than even his Marine trained reflexes could register, her hand snapped up from where it was holding the edge of the paper to swat his away. Her eyes never left the crossword in front of her. "Sheesh, you coulda just said 'no'." He complained, rubbing his hand gingerly. It hadn't actually hurt much, just a sting. But his pride was wounded. And that wouldn't do.

His brown eyes watered, giving him the kicked puppy look that always worked for getting him fed, but she didn't even look up. He was saved from having to further demean himself, thankfully, by his partner strolling in, wavy auburn hair still sleep-mussed. "Pete, stop begging for food." She chastised, taking in the sight before her with a shake of her head. "I was about to feed Pete Jr. If you want breakfast, you can always have some of his." She offered, only half expecting him to decline. Pete took another longing look at those fresh, delicious scones, and then back at his partner. Agent Myka Bering was as tall as he was, and probably (make that definitely) tougher than him in general. That she named her ferret after him always amused him. And the fact that she was offering food, unlike Abigail, was another plus.

"Don't have to ask me twice." He confirmed, completely ignoring the fact that she was offering him /ferret/ food. Food was food, at least that was his take on things. He led the way into the B&B, making it almost to the couch before their boss, Artie Nielson, walked in, case folders in hand. "Oh, hey Artie. Breakfast?" Pete offered, really hoping Artie would get the picture and let him eat before sending them off on another Snag, Bag, and Tag.

To his dismay (but not shock), Agent Nielson just shook his head, holding up the file folders. "You can eat on the way. You've got work to do." Pete's face fell, eyes darting towards the kitchen then back at the folders. Myka, meanwhile, followed her partner at a more leisurely pace, grabbing one of the two folders her boss was holding up. The short, stocky man jumped a little at her sneaking up on him, but didn't make mention of it. "New York City, there are numerous reports of science labs being broken into." He explained, as Myka skimmed through the folder.

"Yeah, isn't that a job for the local police?" Pete asked, eyes straying in the direction of the kitchen. "And can't this wait until I've eaten? I'm starved. This is cruel and unusual punishment." Artie handed him the second folder with a disapproving look.

Glancing up from her folder, Myka rolled her eyes at her partner. Even after half a decade, itstill astounded her how he kept in shape with how much he ate. With a sigh, she darted back outside, taking one of Abigail's scones. "I'll buy you two later." She promised at the disapproving look in the other woman's eyes. "You know how Pete is on an empty stomach." Abigail nodded in acceptance, before waving her off and returning to the crossword puzzle.

Strolling back inside, Myka handed the pastry to her partner. "Better?" She asked in her annoyed-but-trying-to-sound-nice tone.

Pete noticed the tone, but as usual chose to ignore it. "It'll do. Thanks." He down the pastry practically in one bite.

"Good. Now if you two are done, can we get back to business?" Artie's familiar tone of annoyance mixed with impatience cut through Pete's happy-tummy moment. The former Marine gave him a nod, finally looking down at the folder in his hand. It was Myka's job to read the case files. Pete preferred things with pictures. "The robberies were all being reported as having been committed by a group of 'deformed freaks'."

"So, the circus's freak show is stealing sciencey stuff? And isn't sciencey stuff more Claudia's department?" Pete asked, gleaning the important details of the case. "Are you thinking this is another artefact like Lovecraft's key?" He asked, finally actually paying attention to the case. "A giant dog and a fish with arms and legs? Seriously, this sounds a little weird, even for us."

Myka shot him a glare that pretty much told him he was an idiot. "I was pregnant from a keychain, you almost not-so-spontaneously combusted, your ex-wife became a queen bee and turned her entire bridal procession into zombies, the /entire world/ almost ended from a /flower/... But an anthropomorphised dog and fish are unbelievable?"

His hands flew up in surrender. "Fine, you win, we'll go check it out, okay?"

She nodded, giving him a smug smile. "As if there was any doubt?"

"Good, you got that squared away, now /GO/!" The short man shooed them out of the room, handing Myka an envelope with spending money.

[0°•:]

A short time later, they were on their flight to New York. The five hour flight from South Dakota to New York gave Myka time to peruse the case file more closely. Pete took the opportunity to take a nap, only waking to eat both his and Myka's in-flight meals. Not that Myka minded. She was more than used to it by now. It was expected.

When they landed, Myka stood. Deprived of his impromptu pillow, Pete fell into the vacated seat, waking with a start. "You coulda woke me up first ya know." He grumbled, clamouring up and to his feet.

"And you could have refrained from drooling on my shoulder…" To elucidate the point, she brushed her shoulder off, though if he had drooled, the motion would've done nothing to change that. It was more a symbolic gesture. "Anyway, while you get your pizza…" Pete's eyes lit up, a dopy grin crossing his face as he slung an arm across her shoulders.

"You said the magic word: food."

"Actually…" she extricated herself from his side hug and proceeded to make her way off the plane, grateful the line was finally moving. "I said pizza, not food." Noticing his mouth opening to comment, she held up a hand to cut him off. "Yes, I'm aware that any food item counts. But New York and Chicago are pizza first, then hotdogs."

His grin broadened. "You know me so well, Mykes. Don't worry, I'll save you a slice." He followed her into the aisle, grabbing their carry-ons, and following the shuffle-pace of disembarking passengers.

"How generous." Her tone told him she didn't actually find it all that generous. "As I was saying… while you get your food, I'll look for patterns in what was stolen… see if I can't figure out where they'd strike next."

"Sounds like a plan. So… where to first?" Pete asked, but his partner was already opening up the Farnsworth, calling up Claudia on the steampunk videophone. When the young punk-goth-tech's image appeared on the round old-school TV screen at the top of the device, Pete waved over Myka's shoulder. "Heya Claud!" He tapped his partner's shoulder, whispering to her. "You said food first."

Brushing his hand away with a "Try the airport cafeteria," she returned her focus to the face on the screen. "Claud, can you cross reference the things that were stolen? Try to figure out what they're using it for and from there, where they'll strike next. I have to go make sure Pete doesn't cause trouble."

The black and white image saluted her. "Gotcha. You'd better hurry. I think Pete's asking a flight attendant for more peanuts."

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised." Just to be sure, though, she tossed a glance in Pete's direction. Good, he was just waiting in line at the pizza place. "Call me when you find anything."

Claudia's reply of "You got it" brought an end to the conversation and the screen went black again. Closing up the Farnsworth, Myka stood at the pizza line's exit to wait for her partner.

Pete stepped out of the line with two personal pizzas, and one slice. At Myka's raised brow, he shrugged. "I promised I'd save you a slice. I didn't say it would be from my pizzas." He offered her the slice, before stuffing his face with the one of remaining pizzas. "Fo- wa' dif flaufia fay?" He asked through a mouthful of food.

"She's looking into it." Myka answered, not even bothering to chastise him about talking with his mouth full. Hell, she was one of the few people who could understand him, even with fifteen croissants in his mouth at once. Which was actually more impressive than it sounded.

Swallowing, Pete looked around. "Any idea where to first?" He asked before filling his mouth with the second mini pizza.

"I was thinking while we wait for Claudia, we can check out the last place hit, do some actual investigating." Pete rolled his eyes at her. "You meant food, didn't you?"

Wagging his finger in mock reproach, he couldn't help but grin. "You're forgetting the hotdogs." He reminded her. "Can't go to New York and not have pizza and hotdogs. It's just not right!"

It took all her willpower to internalise a heavy sigh. He really was like a big puppy sometimes. "We'll get something on the way, okay?" She offered, but was reprieved from her promise by the metallic 'Bzzt-Bzzzt' of the Farnsworth, buzzing in her pocket. Fishing it out and opening it, she greeted Claudia with "That was quick."

"You're not going to believe this." Which, considering all the stuff they've faced down— including time travel— that did not bode well. "The crooks are trying to build a giant gyroscopic electromagnet. If they weaponise it, something as powerful as they've got… they could shoot planes outta the sky, even reverse the polarity of the /planet/!" Yeah, definitely didn't bode well at all.

"Alright, where's the next piece?" Myka asked, exchanging alarmed looks with Pete. "And how do we stop it, just in case?"

"Based off the pattern of burglaries, I figure the next piece will be tonight. I'm sending you the deets now." The sound of clicking in the background indicated 'the hackress was doing her thang' as she liked to say. A moment later, both Pete and Myka's mobiles buzzed. Pete fished his out of his pocket. There on the screen, was a GPS map telling them where to go, and a countdown timer. "You'd better hurry. It's across town, and you've only got seven hours before they strike."

Pete jumped into the frame behind Myka, wrapping his arm around to show his partner the phone. "Claud, you're as brilliant as ever. But… why hurry if we have seven hours?"

The genius smiled playfully. "Tell me you're not going to stop at every hotdog cart you pass on the way."

"Only every one I /see/. I won't go hunting them down…" He noticed the knowing look the girls exchanged. "Fine, I see your point. Thanks, Claud." He stepped back, looking down at the phone. "Like the lady said, Mykes, we should be going."

(:°•

Pete /did/ manage to fritter away six of the seven hours, just as Claudia suggested. They arrived at the lab only a half an hour early. Which for Myka wasn't early enough. She liked to have time to come up with backup plans (not to mention backup plans for her backup plans). It was something her last partner had taught her. He was gone, but the teaching remained.

"Why do you need to be so early? We just Tesla them, find the artefact that dog- and fish-ified them, SBT, and be out in time for dinner." Pete offered, leaning against one of the less cluttered desks in the main part of the lab. The lab's security was pretty good, but a badge and government ID was better. "Personally, I say we coulda stayed a bit longer at that sushi place. Those pizza pot-stickers were delicious. And the blind chef was /awesome/!"

"Shh!" His partner commanded, dragging him down behind the desk he was leaning against. "They might've gotten the same idea. I heard something."

"I didn't hear anything." He countered.

Keeping her voice in a whisper, Myka hissed back, "You were too busy talking. Now /shh/!"

. [==]

"Man, tell me why we're here again… you said it'd be another hour." A voice complained, as four shadows padded quietly into the lab. Myka couldn't see the figures themselves, however.

Another voice followed the first. "I said half an hour. But I'd rather get here early. The early bird gets the worm, after all."

A third, younger voice chimed in, "Yeah, but the early worm gets eaten. Not so good for the worm, is it? Huh?" He couldn't have been more than sixteen. Myka was guessing closer to fifteen. What the hell were kids doing stealing parts for a super-weapon?!

==[==========

Before she could contemplate any further, Pete stood up, weapon aimed at the quartet. "Drop your weapons and put your… um… flippers… up?" He looked down to where Myka was still crouched. "Okay, can I call it weird yet?" He asked, gesturing with his head in the direction of the intruders. In his hands was a tesla gun, the clear glass energy chamber glowing with electrical energy. Designed by Nikola Tesla himself (and vamped up by their resident tech, Claudia Donovan), it was even more steampunk than the Farnsworth (which was, as its name suggests, designed by Philo Farnsworth, inventor of the television).

"Is that a real Tesla gun? Made into a /handgun/?" The second voice again. He seemed to be the brains of the organisation. "That is so /cool/!" Okay, curiosity was killing her. Myka stood to see the intruders, and froze. Only for a moment, however. She was used to seeing weirdness. It was part of the job. Endless Wonder; it shoulda been called Endless Weirdness sometimes.

Still, this was a new one, even for her. Four turtle men. Though judging by their voices, at least one was a teenager. She cleared her throat. "You heard him. Put down your weapons. Whatever happened to you. We can help. What you're building? It isn't the answer."

"Woah, another one? Why were you two hiding there? We weren't… interrupting anything, were we?" One of the shorter turtles asked. They wore different coloured masks, she figured as a quick identifier. Though they did each have distinct features as well. The one who spoke had a red mask and a chip in the chestplate of his shell, near his left shoulder. He seemed the most scarred of the four, if you count scratches and chips on his shell as 'scars'.

"We're government agents." Myka informed him, irritated by the turtle's implication. "I'm Myka Bering, this is my partner, Pete Lattimer."

The orange one piped up. He was the youngest sounding (and the shortest). "Dude! That is /so/ cool! I'm Myka-langelo! You two should switch last names. Then we'd totally have the same name." He clearly wasn't very bright. That, or he played dumb even better than Pete did. The red one smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For being stupid. Need another dose of education?" Red answered, cracking his knuckles expectantly.

"No, I'm good." 'Myka-langelo' (though she was pretty sure it was 'Michelangelo') replied.

The blue one, whose voice she hasn't heard yet, finally spoke. "What kind of government agents?" He asked. He seemed to be the leader. At least thought like a leader should.

"Secret Service." Retrieving her ID from her pocket, she showed it to them, her badge was already clipped to her belt, next to her gun.

Michelangelo rolled his eyes. "Duh, it's not a secret if you tell everybody. You're really not very good at keeping secrets, are you?" This earned him another thwack from Red. "Would you cut that out?"

Pete lowered his Tesla, but didn't holster it. Giving the orange turtle a commiserating look, he rubbed his upper arm, Myka's usual spot to hit him. "I know the feeling all too well. Mykes here's pretty violent, too."

"Only when you deserve it." Pocketing her ID again, Myka got back to business. "How did you get turned into turtles? Was it something you drank? Something you all came into contact with?"

"You aren't amazed by giant talking turtles?" Blue asked, surprised.

Pete shrugged. "We've dealt with some pretty weird stuff." He answered honestly. It was their job to keep the Warehouse secret. But when someone has been whammied by an artefact, sometimes a little glimmer of the truth could make a world of difference. And he was getting good vibes off these guys.

"Weirder than four talking, anthropomorphised turtles?" The purple masked turtle asked, stunned.

Pete went to holster the tesla, but a really bad vibe told him not to. "Well, we were expecting you to be an anthrowhatsitz fish and a werewolf. So yeah."

Michelangelo pounded his fist into his hand in recognition. "DogPound and FishFace." He informed the agents. "We're here to stop them, too."

"Yeah, and we don't need some suits getting in the way." Red informed them, gesturing to elucidate his point. "These guys are really dangerous. Highly trained ninjas with an army of alien robots and other not-so-highly-trained ninjas. Your little ray gun won't do much against that. Just leave it to us, alright?" He pointed to himself before crossing his arms.

Pete tossed a glance at his partner. She hated being told she couldn't do something. Especially when she was made to sound incompetent or too weak to do it. "You realise she's got the gun. And a temper…" Pete warned, looking back to the turtle quartet.

"Alright, we've got time. Bring it." Red pulled his sais from his belt, taking on a fighting stance. "I could use the warm up."

Myka took a step forward, only to be stopped by an alert bleeping in tandem from both her and Pete's cell phones. "Maybe after we protect the induction coil from your friends." She told him, shutting off her alarm and retrieving her gun. She looked to Pete, who was fighting to turn his phone's alarm off. "You ready?"

With a relieved sigh, he finally got it turned off and returned his mobile to his pocket. "Whenever they are." He answered, frowning. "Whatever's coming is /very/ not good. I'm vibing like crazy." He warned, just as the front door of the lab was blown off its hinges. The otherwise pristine whiteness of the lab was filled with a cloud of dust and papers, blown around at the stirred air. It was followed closely by a giant canid and a man-sized fish with arms and mechanical legs. "Seriously, can we call this weird /now/?" Pete asked. Once the pair squeezed through the door, they fanned out, followed closely by a group of masked, pyjama clad ninjas. It looked like they walked right out of an old Bruce Lee film, or some comic book. Behind them, was even weirder. Mechanical men. Robots some blue, some silver —all with pink brains in their abdomen— filled the rest of the vast room, surrounding the six 'heroes'. Or at least that's how Pete narrated it to himself. "Okay. I'm calling this the weirdest snag in the history of the Warehouse. Let's see HG fight off alien brainbots."

"Uh, dude, I'm the one that names things around here." Michelangelo countered. "Besides, they already have a name. It's Kraang." After a moment's thought, he added, "I do like BrainBot though."

Any further conversation was cut off by the sound of dozens of alien guns locking into place around them from all sides.

=====••••••••••=====

"It's green time!" The four turtles shouted together. Myka thought it was a weird battle cry, but it wasn't any stranger than 'let's do this' or something. The four teens backed up, forming a circle around the agents, weapons at the ready. They at least seemed to be experienced fighters. Considering the number of opponents, and how rusty she was at hand-to-hand, that was a relief. She made a note to practice kempo with HG or Claudia more often… if they made it out of this alive and preferably unscathed.

The first barrage of magenta phaser fire came, blocked by the expert parries of the teen martial artists. The blue clad turtle used his twin swords to reflect a laser blast back at the alien that fired it. Purple used his staff to yank the 'Kraang's weapon from its mechanical hands, causing it to skid to a halt at her and Pete's feet. Michelangelo spun his nunchucks, clanging two Kraang together. Red ran into the line head-on. Which, considering that sais were mainly melee weapons, made sense. She watched a moment, impressed at the skills these kids exhibited. But for every Kraang they took down, it seemed another, or a ninja, took its place.

Not being one to let the boys have all the fun, Myka aimed her gun at the squirming brain in the centre of one of the robots. The bullet struck home, right between the brain's beady yellow eyes. The Kraang brain exploded, chunks of green and pink alien slime getting all over the floor; clumping disgustingly in the dust. The body crumpled without the Kraang at the helm.

"The ones that are known as the turtles have brought ones which are called humans to fight on the side of the ones known as the turtles. The one who is the human female is a threat to the ones known as Kraang." One of the blue bots intoned. It sounded so ridiculously robotic, she couldn't help but laugh. That and its wording was downright idiotic. "The ones who are Kraang must make the one who is the human female to be eliminated." The entire army of robots turned to her at once, ignoring their fight with the turtles.

"Uh, Mykes, I hope you got a plan." Pete asked her, aiming his tesla at the oncoming hoard. First shot took down three at once, causing the bots to spasm under the electric charge. Sadly, the brains inside remained unharmed. He was kinda hoping they'd explode like the one she shot did. They /did/ however, climb out from the chest cavity, pink tentacles dragging them across the room towards them. /Uh-oh…/ Pete hazarded a glance at his partner, whose biggest fear was none other than tentacles.

Myka saw them dragging their slimy bodies across the ground, leaving a stream of… she could only guess what… in their wake. A crazed look crossed her features, as she shot the creatures, causing each one to explode in a gooey mess of lime green and pastel pink.

The turtles stopped fighting, watching the insane agent literally blow the brains out of the Kraang. Myka shot at one of the bots, missing it by a hair, and striking the water cooler a few yards behind it. "Ha! The one who is the human female has missed the target that is Kraang. The one known as Kraang will not miss the target that is the one who is the human female." The blue Kraang droned cockily. She didn't realise robots could even /sound/ cocky. But this one did.

"I wouldn't be too sure." She retorted, turning to look behind her. Pete had holstered the tesla, opting to use the alien's weapon against them. The turtles had turned their focus on the human foes for the time being.

Beyond the fighting, Fish Sticks and Dog Breath were heading towards the secure end of the lab, where the inductor coil was kept. "Uh, guys?" She called to the turtles and her partner. When they looked at her, she gestured towards the puddle forming beneath the feet of the robots. "Push them back! Pete? The tesla."

Realising what she was planning, but not wanting to tip the Kraang off, Purple nodded. "You heard the lady, push them back."

"Uh, why don't we just kick their butts instead?" Michelangelo asked, earning a facepalm from his friends.

"Because they seem a little messy, covered in their friends and all. I think they need to wash off…" Myka answered, heading in the opposite direction.

"Oh… okay." God, he was simple. Which, in that instance, was a good thing. The turtles guided the robots and pyjama-clad enemies towards the ever-growing puddle, being careful not to step in the water themselves. Or at least three were careful not to. Purple did his best to keep Michelangelo at a safe distance from the puddle.

{^°~–~°^}

Myka, meanwhile followed the two animals to the back of the lab, letting off a warning shot that very narrowly missed the dog. "Next one goes through that furry head of yours. And if you don't believe me, ask the remaining squid-brains if I'm joking."

»–—

After rounding up as many foe as they could, Pete aimed his tesla at the puddle beneath their feet. "This /may/ come as a shock…" He squeezed the trigger, and a stream of electricity shot out, zapping everyone touching the puddle with enough juice to render them unconscious. The Kraang brains fled, obviously afraid of 'the one who is the human female' doing to them what she had to so many of them.

At the pile of enemies at their feet, Michelangelo laughed. "Booyakasha! Nice moves… for a human. Gimme three!" He held up his three-digit hand, which (to his surprise and elation) Pete high-fived. "I'd say those guys are catching some zzzts." Instead of saying 'Z's' he made a zappy sound. "Get it? Cause they were zapped?"

"We /get it/." Red answered in annoyance.

Pete actually laughed, another thing Michelangelo's brothers never did at his jokes. "Hey, hey, hey! Finally someone with a sense of humour! Mykes never gets my jokes. Think they got what all the buzz was about?" He asked. Michelangelo laughed. The other three turtle just facepalmed.

"Great, another Mikey. Just what the world needs." Red muttered. Blue nodded solemnly.

"Dude, you are /so/ cool. Um… where's your partner?" Michelangelo asked, looking around. At the far end of the lab, —behind a plexiglass wall— stood Myka, gun trained on the two other animal people. "She's pretty cool, too. But we should /probably/ go help her…" The orange masked turtle suggested, pointing towards the bizarre tableau behind the window.

\\_/

Myka had the mutant pair a safe distance from herself, gun trained on the dog's face. "Don't you know it's not fair to bring a gun to a mutant fight?" DogPound offered, giving a toothy, wolffish grin. As the turtles entered in behind Myka, he looked to them in cruel amusement. "Can't beat us on your own, so you bring a human with a pea-shooter?" His voice was a low, angry growl. Myka shot his tail, eliciting an involuntary yelp.

"You really don't want to mess with me, Dog Breath." She warned. "You guys alright?" Without looking away, she called over her shoulder. "Pete?"

Michelangelo spoke up, "One, I'm the one who makes names. His is DogPound, not dog breath. Two, Pete is /awesome/. And has really epic one-liners. And three? Uh… right! That was a great idea with the puddle. These two are the last ones left."

DogPound looked past them into the office part of the lab. All that was left of the battle was a big pile of metal and costumed villains, along with a huge mess of alien slime and brain juice. "It took two humans to do what the four of you couldn't. I'm not impressed."

"Hey, they're here for you, not us, Dogboy." Red warned.

Michelangelo interjected with "That's Dog/POUND/."

Red shrugged at his dimwitted fellow turtle. "Whatever." Turning back to DogPound, he continued. "They're Secret Service. What'd you do? Hump the president's leg?"

DogPound lunged at the shorter turtle, who held his sais at the ready. Myka cocked her gun, firing one of the spikes off the canid's right shoulder. It was match to the broken stub of a spike on his left one. "Do I have to tell you again?" The dog's pointy ears fell back against his broad head, as he took a step back. His eyes smouldered angrily at her, but he didn't make a move. "Now, we'll let you go… but not with the device. Take your goons and run, tail between your legs, back to your leader. He /may/ be merciful. But if you try to leave with the coil… I definitely won't be."

DogPound and FishFace looked at each other, debating which was a worse fate: facing down the Shredder, or this gun-toting fed. They opted for living to fight another day. They could come back later for the coil. And could always blame someone else for their failure. After all, it was the Kraang's plan. The pair fled as quickly as they could, while retaining a modicum of pride.

The turtles watched them leave before turning an impressed gaze on the woman with the gun. A smirk played at her lips, as she holstered her weapon. "What was that about getting in the way?" She asked Red teasingly. He frowned, but couldn't help the little sparkle of admiration in his eyes.

"Well… you… you cheated!" He stammered. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he added, "A ninja doesn't have to rely on guns. A ninja relies on his strength and skill." His arms crossed defiantly while the other turtles just gave her an impressed cheer.

"And one of my skills is with a gun." She added smugly. "Now lets take this induction coil so they can't get their hands on it, and get out of here. The smell of rotting aliens is making me sick."

With a nod, Pete and Purple picked up the device, as Blue lead the way, using their entrance as an exit. Stepping over goo and robot parts, Myka picked up one of the ray guns, and a sword from one of the unconscious ninjas, before following Pete and the turtles.

—-—

Outside, Myka took a deep breath of fresh air, looking around for the turtles. A clang drew her attention downward. "You guys coming?" Red asked, peering out from a manhole. Because things weren't f***ed up enough as it was… the turtles lived in the sewer.

"Right. Uh… be right there." She looked behind her for Pete, only to spot him climbing into the sewer as well. Throwing up her hands in surrender, she sighed. She tied the ray gun to her belt, then slung the sheathed sword over her shoulder. The sound of sirens grew nearer, hastening her retreat into the sewer. The manhole cover was a bit heavy for her, but she managed. She just masterminded the defeat of a whole army, and took down a behemoth of a dogman. She didn't need help with a little manhole cover.

{^°•°^}

After a long, convoluted way around the dank sewers, they finally came to an abandoned subway station. Red, Blue, and Michelangelo jumped over the turnstiles, Pete and Purple carefully lifted the coil over it.

Myka walked through after them, still unimpressed by their living conditions. Though where else could giant turtle-people live? Besides the Warehouse, that is.

Her feelings changed when she passed through the gate and saw their lair. She didn't have to see Pete's face to know he was excited. Somehow, even the back of his head exuded enthusiasm. It was decked out the way you'd think a group of teenagers would live. Complete with a wide screen tv, beanbag chairs, and tire swing. And that was just the main room. She saw other rooms, but not what was inside them.

Setting the coil down, Pete gave an impressed whistle. "Alright. /Nice/ pad, guys. But, uh… I never caught your names. I mean other than Mike, that is. So, what about the rest of you?"

Blue pointed to himself, "Well, I'm Leonardo. That's Donatello in the purple there," the turtle in question gave a little wave, "and the hothead is Raphael." Raphael scowled, but didn't argue the title.

"Master Splinter?" Michelangelo headed for one of the back rooms. "Some secret agents followed us home. Can we keep 'em?"

"Splinter?" Myka asked, curious. Another turtle? "Who…" Pete's scream cut off her query. Pete, shrieking like a little girl? "Pete?!" She turned in the direction Pete was looking. There, larger than life, was a giant, anthropomorphised rat. In a kimono. Myka bit back a laugh as Pete jumped behind her, to put her between him and the giant rat.

"Rat!" He exclaimed, pointing.

"Rat? Where?" Splinter asked, looking around. It made Myka just laugh harder. The turtles joined in, Michelangelo giggling at Pete's reaction to his mentor. "Michelangelo. What have I told you about bringing home strays?" The rat chided lightly. He bore a mild Japanese accent, like he'd lived in the US a long time.

"You're their sensei?" Myka asked, taking a step forward and trying to compose herself. "I'm agent Myka Bering. The cowering mass behind me is my partner, Pete Lattimer." She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "So… can you tell us how you got like this? We can help you guys turn back. Maybe."

All four turtle turned to her in unison, frowning. "No!" They all yelled at once. "We /were/ turtles. We really don't want to go back to the fishbowl." Donatello added.

Michelangelo put in his two cents, "Yeah, we like pizza too much!"

"Well, who doesn't?" Pete straightened, looking at the turtles in surprise. "But you guys were born turtles? That… that's one crazy whammy. What happened?"

"And did DogPound and FishFace get hit by the same artefact?" Myka finished for him.

"Artefact?" Leonardo asked, "We don't know about an artefact… but they were hit with the same chemical that mutated us. It turns you into the last thing you touched, generally."

Myka raised a brow. "So Pete would become a comic book?" She asked incredulously.

"Uh, no actually. It has to be a living thing. Weeds, rats, alligator, pigeons… anything plant or animal." Donatello explained. "He'd probably become a turtle."

Pete looked to Myka with a grin. "You'd look cute as a ferret. Total 'Furry' fan wetdre— erm…" he cut off and looked at Splinter with a cringe. "Uh, no offence."

"None taken." The rat responded, tapping his staff on the ground lightly. "Though if you don't mind telling me, what are you doing hunting down mutants. Since when did 'secret agents' have an interest in us?"

The agents exchanged a glance, before Myka answered. "We deal with weird. Protect the world from dangerous artefacts that could cause trouble to the public. Some seem good, but they all have a downside. The better the upside seems, the worse the downside usually is. Our job is to collect these objects for safe keeping."

"You have no idea how many times we saved the world and nobody even knows about it!" Pete whinged.

Michelangelo nodded sadly. "I know the feeling, bro. We save the city /all the time/, and it's a /bad/ thing if we're famous!"

Pete and Michelangelo gave each other commiserating looks. Myka glanced to the rest of the turtles, who had various expressions of bemused annoyance. "He does this a lot, I take it?" She asked them. They nodded in agreement. "Guess Pete has a new BFF, huh?"

Pete slung his arm over her shoulder. "Aww, you're still my BFFEWYLION. I just have a snacking buddy now."

Raphael and Leonardo exchanged bemused looks. "BFFEWY-huh?"

Michelangelo tried sounding it out. "Beef ew, ill lion? Is that code for 'She's bad cat meat'?" He scratched his head in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean, anyway? Are you planning to eat her? Or worse, feed her to your cat?! Or are you going to eat her cat? Ew, dude! Cats are pets, not food."

Pete couldn't help but laugh at the unintended innuendo. "It's something a friend of ours uses. It means 'Best Friends Forever and Ever Whether You Like It Or Not'." Myka groaned knowingly at her partner. She knew exactly what he was laughing at. And was decisively unamused.

Pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation, she looked beseechingly to the other turtles. They all sat on the long couch, which was actually more just a padded shelf between the the entrance and a sunken in area with a TV and game console. They shrugged, fighting back chuckles of their own. "Seriously? You guys, too?"

"Uh…" Raphael snickered. "Are you /sure/ we weren't interrupting anything in the lab back there?"

Myka glared at him, reaching threateningly towards her gun. "Quite sure." She answer menacingly. "Want to ask again?"

"You really want me to?" He asked cockily. "Take away your gun, I could beat you any day of the week."

Michelangelo raised a finger. "Even Sunday?"

Raphael nodded. "Even Sunday."

"Even… Christmas?!"

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mikey, /any/ day." Michelangelo raised a finger and opened his mouth, "Yes, even Easter." Mikey lowered his hand with a frown.

Undoing her belt, Myka handed Pete her gun and the ray gun she picked up. "I'm up for the challenge." She informed Raphael, unsheathing the katana she'd nicked from the ninja earlier. "Bring it."

Raphael grinned, leaping to his feet. "Consider it /brought/."

"Ya me!" Splinter commanded, raising a hand at his student. Myka and Raphael both froze, turning to him. "If you are going to spar, take it to the practice room. I don't need a mess in here… again."

Raphael nodded, a violent smirk crossing his reptilian features. "Ladies first." He gestured towards one of the back rooms.

"Then by all means, after you." Myka teased, not bothering to wait for him to lead the way. Fuming, Raphael followed her into the practice room.

"You won't be so smug when I beat the stuffing outta ya." He warned as he strolled into the centre of the ornate carpet and took a fighting stance, sais at the ready. "Normally I don't beat up on girls… But I'll make an exception this time."

An amused grin crossed her lips as she readied herself, twirling her blade to get a feel for it. "Hate to break it to you, but you're the one going to be beaten."

–E— ======]==

Pete and the remaining turtles watched the pair leave. "Okay, now /this/ I gotta see." He and Michelangelo said in unison. Pete added, "Who's taking bets?"

"Is she as good with a sword as she is with a gun?" Michelangelo asked. "Because Raph's really, really good."

"Oh, she's good. Especially when she's in one of her moods." Pete answered, leading the other turtles to watch the battle. "You shoulda seen her against Excalibur. She kicked butt. And she's pretty badass in Kempo or whatever it's called." He shrugged. "Her girlfriend taught it to her. The Kempo I mean. The fencing she learned as a kid." He shrugged. "'Some girls played with Barbies, Myka took fencing lessons.'" He quoted what she'd told him.

"/Girlfriend/?!" Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello asked. Mikey chimed in after with, "You two can /not/ get any cooler!" Just then, the Farnsworth came flying from the practice room, hitting him in the face. "What's this?" He asked, opening up the buzzing box. "Oooh, buttons! What's this do?" Pressing the button under the flashing light, he stared in awe at the black and white face that appeared on the screen. "Dude! Old school TV! Awesome!"

"Uhh… what the…" the girl on the screen fumbled a moment. "Pete?! What did you do?" She asked in a warning tone.

Pete grabbed the Farnsworth from Mikey, just as a thud from the other room indicated one of the combatants was just thrown to the ground. "Oh, uh, hey Claud." Pete answered, trying to peer past the turtles into the room. "S'up?"

"Report has it that the inductor coil was still stolen. /Please/ tell me you guys have it. You left a /big/ mess over there. What the hell happened?!" Pete opened his mouth to comment, when she continued. "Do you know how annoying it is to hack three government agencies in under an hour… while avoiding being tracked? Fracking tough, man." She answered for herself.

Michelangelo look over the side of the Farnsworth in awe. "You guys have /such/ cool toys." He looked at the face in the screen. "Heya. I'm Michelangelo." He gave a little wave.

"Uh… hi." Claudia looked at the crazy guy in the mask. "I'm guessing you're a friend of Pete's. I'm Claudia."

"Snack bro, yeah. Myka is still his Beef-ew-ill-lion." He answered, grabbing the device back from Pete. "I think it means best buds."

Claudia eyed the reptile carefully. "BFFEWYLION, you mean?" She craned her neck, trying to look at Pete. "Pete… That's my word for Jinksy. You're stealing my lines? And telling them to… um… what the hell is he, anyway?"

"I'm a turtle. Of the teenage mutant ninja variety." Mikey answered, grinning smugly and pointing to himself proudly. "And I stand corrected. You guys just broke the awesomeness scale about ten times over!"

Claudia looked back to the turtle with a cocky smirk. "I think you mean twenty times over. Myka must be keeping Pete from telling you all the really cool stuff." Her face filled the screen more as she tried to get a better look at the surroundings on the other side of the Farnsworth. It was about as helpful as moving with a controller while playing an NES game. "Speaking of, where IS Myka, anyway?"

Pete leaned over his snacking buddy to get a better view of the screen. "Oh, she's in the other room fighting with Mikey here's brother. Which, by the way, I'm totally missing a Pay-per-View fight." He added, sneaking a peek into the room where the other two turtles had already snuck along the wall for a better view. "I'll talk to you later."

"Only if you record it for posterity sake. And for me and Jinksy to watch on instant replay when you get back." Claudia answered, to which both Pete and Mikey laughed.

"It's okay, I'm totally gonna want a copy of it, too. Watching Raph getting his shell kicked by a girl will be right up there with him screaming like one after seeing robo-roach." Mikey laughed at the memory, before looking curiously at the device in his hand. "Uh, how do I turn this off?"

"Just press the button you pressed to turn it on." Claudia answered. "And don't forget to give me a copy of that battle." As an afterthought, she muttered "Wait, robo-roach?"

He didn't notice the last question. "Ten Four, over and out, dudette." Pressing the button, he closed the box, handing it back to Pete before following him into the practice room.

The battle was already in full swing, and thankfully Donatello had already started recording it on his tPhone. Myka swung her blade, expertly parrying a charge from the short turtle. Her follow-through sent his sai flying at their audience, and her opponent spinning to keep his balance. Both were already breathing heavily, clearly equally invested in winning the match.

The sliding door swished closed, and Pete looked up to see the rat stand at the entrance. All five onlookers watched silently, as the combatants charged each other again. Raphael tried to swipe Myka's long legs from under her; but she swung her sword down along the side of her leg, holding it in place against the floor. The bystanders cringed as Raph's let out a yelp of pain, unable to stop his momentum in time to keep from getting sliced by the blade. He leaped back, keeping low and favouring his unsliced leg, remaining sai clutched in his right hand. "You cheated." He claimed, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"In a real fight, there's no such thing as cheating." She warned him, taking on an offensive stance. She, too, took the opportunity to regain her composure and catch her breath. Sweat clung her hair to her face, where it escaped the quick ponytail she had it in. "If you want to give up, I won't hold it against you." She promised, katana at the ready.

"No, but they would." He pointed towards their audience, which was the first recognition either of them had shown to their viewers. "And so would I." He added, charging her again.

The agent stepped into his sai's path, swinging her sword at the last moment to catch it between the tongs. "Then would you rather I hold /this/ against you?" She asked, twisting her blade to loosen his grip on his weapon and sending it skidding to a halt a few feet away. With the same motion, she swung her sword around, catching him in a head-lock, blade pressed against his slender green neck.

"No, thanks." He answered, pausing as the blade nicked his neck. He hated losing, especially to a human /girl/. But she cheated. He couldn't be expected to win in an unfair fight… He tried to figure out a move to get out, but he was stuck between a knife and a soft place… That gave him an idea. If she wanted to cheat, he could play just as dirty. "I don't mind you holding yourself against me, though." He teased, reaching behind her to grab her butt. Usually he preferred to kick butt, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Caught off-guard, she loosened her hold enough for Raph to duck out, knocking her feet from under her. She clung to her sword, holding it up as defence as he turned to punch her. Swinging the blade in a parry move, she rolled out of his reach and back up to her knees. "I see I'm not the only one who 'cheats'." She noted, emphasising the word cheats. Taking on a defensive stance, she watched her opponent closely, as he limped ever-so-slightly on his wounded calf. Luckily it wasn't deep enough to cause serious damage, the premed part of her mind noted. Though, with turtles who could tell?

"Mannn, I wish I'd made popcorn." Mikey whispered, watching aptly at the duel before him. "This is better than Space Heroes VI!"

Donny nodded. "I'm just glad I'm not the one getting pummelled by Raph this time." Leo and Pete looked at him with raised brows. Or in Leo's case, a raised brow-ridge-mask-whatever.

"Are we watching the same fight?" Pete asked incredulously. "Myka is beating your boy to a pulp!" He gestured towards the scene in front of them. "And he's got like a hundred pounds on her."

Splinter looked down at the group sitting on the sidelines. "It is not about who /is/ winning, it is about who /has/ won." He said sagely, turning back to watch the fight. He stood stoically, arms behind his back. "The battle is not over. Do not name a victor until it is." As almost an after-thought, he added quietly. "However, if I were to place a wager, I would put my money on Agent Bering."

"Damned right!" Pete agreed, watching as Raphael made another futile lunge for his partner. There was already blood soaking into the ornate oriental carpet, and Raph's movements were beginning to look a little less ninja-precise.

Out of part pity, part fair play, Myka tossed the sword away from the onlookers, but out of reach of her or Raph. "Let's finish this before you completely ruin the carpet." She commented, holding her fists up in a pugilistic stance.

"I don't need your pity to win!" He countered, leaping at her with a kick from his good leg.

She dropped, rolling under the flying kick to grab his bad leg with both her hands. Even then, her hands didn't fully wrap around his calf. "Fine by me. Because I can't feel sorry for idiots." She dug her fingers into the wound, causing him to cry out in pain and drop to the ground. He tried to roll with it, but stopped mid-roll when his leg rubbed against the carpet. A burning pain filled his leg, incapacitating him a moment.

Struggling to his feet, he hobbled momentarily, glowering at the woman before him. "I am /NOT/ surrendering to a /girl/." He reiterated, though he wasn't in any position to continue the fight.

"YA-ME!" Splinter's voice echoed in the cavernous practice room, causing everyone present to freeze, mid-movement, and look at him. "Enough. Miss Bering, you have won. Raphael, it is not a sign of weakness, but of strength, to be able to admit defeat. No matter /who/ the opponent is."

–E—

Myka's stance relaxed, and she walked up to Raphael's side. "Here, let me help." She offered, but he pushed her away.

"Don't you think you 'helped' enough already?" He asked harshly, sitting heavily on the carpeted floor. His hands pressed painfully against the bleeding wound, eyes smouldering at the fed. "You're lucky I went easy on you because you're a girl."

She shrugged. "I know. I appreciate it." Sometimes, it was easier to help someone mend their pride if you played along with their lie. If it made them feel better, especially after such an epic defeat, where was the harm in letting them think they were better than they were? "How about you let me thank you, by treating your wound?"

Raph let out a sigh of aggravation. "First she's a fed, then she's a fencer, now she's a doctor…" he muttered to himself. "What's next… a linguistic paragon?" He demanded rhetorically, throwing his hands up in defeat. She didn't say a word. But the embarrassed look on her face spoke volumes. "You are, aren't you?" He grumbled. "Is there anything you /can't/ do?" He asked angrily.

She shrugged. "I am what I am. I'm not a doctor, just premed. And I have my downsides, just like anyone else." She turned to the audience, who were still seated in stunned silence. "Donny, mind getting me some bandages? Mikey, go get me some alcohol or boil some water. Leo? Do you guys have a needle and thread?" She asked, not intending to take charge, but it was who she was.

The turtles looked to their master for approval. He simply nodded, and they ran off to complete their tasks. "Splinter? Can you help me and Pete get Raphael to a bed or at least somewhere more comfortable?" Her query was less commanding this time, her tone respectful of his age and authority.

The rat nodded again. "Of course. And thank you. Both for showing my pupil humility and for helping tend to him afterwards. It is very honourable of you." He bent down, helping his 'son' to his feet, then wrapped his arm over his shoulder to help guide him to the couch. Pete took Raph's other side, while Myka picked up the discarded weapons.

Following them out, she gave an apologetic, rather sheepish smile to the elder ninja. "And sorry for the mess on the rug in there. Things got a little…" She looked at the turtle limping towards the couch, "Okay, a lot out of hand."

Pete and Splinter lowered Raph to the couch, careful to keep his injured leg elevated. "Accidents and mistakes happen. It is better he was injured here, where we can tend to him; rather than out in the streets where we cannot." Raph carried a perpetual scowl, arms crossed defiantly as he leaned against the cushions.

"What /happened/?" A teenage girl's voice asked, stepping through the turnstiles with a bag of groceries in her arms. Taking in the two strangers, she set the bag of groceries down atop the nearest turnstile, reaching carefully for the weaponised folding fan in her pocket. "And who the heck are you?"

Myka reached into her pocket, retrieving her ID. "Secret Service. Who are you?" She demanded. The kid didn't /look/ like anything other than a normal teenager. But then, neither did Claudia at her age. And Claudia was able to hack into the most secure facilities on the planet. Being literally at home with giant talking turtles and a rat, who knew what this kid could do. Better safe than sorry.

She abandoned reaching for her fan, opting instead to hurry to the couch where Splinter and the agents were gathered. Seeing Raphael lying on the couch, gaping wound in his leg, she looked at the two other humans. "I'm their friend. What happened to him?" She asked, kneeling beside Raphael's supine form. "You okay, Raph?"

"It's just a flesh-wound." He waved off her concern then recrossed his arms. "She cheats." He scowled up towards Myka, who still had an apologetic frown on her face.

"All's fair in love and war." She answered lamely. "And I didn't cheat. I defended myself. There's a difference."

Michelangelo came back with the boiling water. "Ow! Hot-hothot!" He kept transferring the bowl from one hand to another. "Can somebody take this, please?"

Myka picked up a cushion that had fallen to the floor when they set Raph down, and held it up to the orange masked teen. "Here, set it on here." Mikey complied, blowing on his hands when they were free of the hot bowl.

"Thanks, Mykey." He said between blowing on his hands. "Oh, hey, April. These are our new human friends, Myka and Pete. Myka has the same name as me, isn't that cool? And she can /totally/ beat Raph, which is even cooler." The turtle in question grumbled "Yeah, by cheating…" while Mikey continued. "And Pete's my new snacking buddy. He's got a wicked sense of humour, too. Totally Mikey approved." Michelangelo gave a thumbs up and wink at Pete, before remembering his injured comrade. "How you doin', Raph? Which hurts more, your leg or your pride?"

"That's no way to talk to him!" April chided, causing Mikey to pout. "He's injured. You shouldn't tease someone for being injured."

"Why not? He does it to us all the time." Leo asked, returning with the needle and thread. Donatello was already there, but was too busy swooning over the redheaded teen to actually make his presence noticed. Besides, the bandages came last.

While they bantered, Myka had dipped a cloth in the boiling water, using it to clean the wound. She didn't bother warning him that it would hurt. His pride had taken enough of a beating for one day. Which is also why she ignored the hiss of pain he made when the hot cloth pressed against the sensitive area; and why she didn't apologise for the pain. "There, that should do it. Leonardo? Thread the needle, doubled, if you can. With a knot at the end. I think after that last move, he's going to need stitches."

April looked at Myka in a mix of disgust and admiration. "You hurt /Raph/ bad enough that he needed stitches? RAPH? YOU?" She looked at each person in turn, asking for confirmation.

Mikey nodded calmly. "It's true. She kicked his shell." Unable to retain his composure, he grinned broadly. "You shoulda seen it! He was like 'ka-chyea!' and she was like 'booyakasha!' and he was like 'hee-ya!'" As he spoke, he mimicked their moves in a one-turtle re-enactment. "And then he was like 'slam!' but she blocked with a 'bam!' and she blocked a leg swipe with the business end of her katana and /BOOM/, down went Raph. Then he grabbed her butt and she /really/ got tough."

April followed as best she could. "Wait, she wasn't being tough /before/ she sliced up Raph's leg?" She asked. "Do I want to know what happened next?"

Donatello cleared his throat, giving April a slightly-too-friendly wave. "Hiya, April." His voice had that swoony tone that Myka recognised from every time Artie talked to the Warehouse doctor, Dr Vanessa Calder. Donatello definitely had a thing for the slender human teen. "I have a video of it, if you want to see." He held up his tPhone.

"Oh no you don't." Raph argued, reaching for the shell-shaped phone. The movement stretched his injury, causing a shooting pain to run up his leg. "OW!" Giving up on the phone for the moment, Raphael resettled himself, fighting the urge to touch the wound. He knew it'd just make it hurt more, but the instinct to just press it was almost overwhelming.

Noticing his hands twitch towards his wound, Myka swatted Raphs hand away from the area. "This'll hurt. But you can handle it." She warned, taking the needle from Leo and dipping the tip of it in the still scalding hot water before proceeding to stitch up the wound. Raphael's fists clenched and his face scrunched up in pain, but he refused to give her the (albeit imagined) satisfaction of hearing him cry out.

Donatello watched attentively as she tended to his brother's injury. Michelangelo looked away, his attention on the tv to avoid looking at big, bad Raph cringing. Leonardo suddenly seemed very focused on cleaning his own katanas. April watched Myka's ministrations as closely as Donny did. "Where did you learn how to stitch people up?" She asked, as Myka carefully stitched the wound closed.

"I was premed before I was prelaw before finally joining the Secret Service." Myka answered matter-of-factly, no hint of bragging in her voice. If anything, she sounded almost abashed by the information. A reaction to Raphael's earlier rant, most likely. "It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my life."

April looked sufficiently impressed, which just further annoyed Raphael. "Wow, /and/ you can fight as well as Raph? That's amazing!"

"It's not amazing!" Raph countered through clenched teeth. She was almost done. That was the only reason he didn't punch the fed in the face, then and there. Showing him up on his own turf… "She's a freaking Mary Sue!" Everyone stared at him, unblinking.

"Uh… he must've lost more blood than we thought!" Michelangelo exclaimed. "Nah, bro, her name's Myka Bering, not Mary Sue." He patted the other turtle on the shoulder. "I don't even know where you'd get that from."

Raph batted his brother's hand away. "A Mary Sue is a term for someone who is too perfect to be believable." He explained angrily.

Donatello took a step forward to hand Myka the bandages and look down at the irascible reptile. "I know what it means. The question is… How do /you/? That's a fan fiction term." The other turtles turned to watch on in confusion, unsure what a 'fanfiction' was. Though if Donny knew it but didn't expect Raph to, it was probably something geeky.

"Uh…" Michelangelo raised his hand. "What's 'fanfiction'?"

The purple masked turtle sighed. "It's a story involving characters from books, movies, or other previously published works. Like… if Leo wrote a story about Star Heroes, it'd be a fanfiction. Or Fanfic for short."

Leo seemed to be giving the idea a moment of thought, before shaking his head. "I can't believe Raph is a fan of anything enough to write stories about it."

"I don't believe Raph actually writes." Mikey added, earning a pillow to the face from Raph. "I'm just saying… it's a bit geeky for you." The bowl of (thankfully no longer scalding but still too hot) water followed the pillow's trajectory. Michelangelo ducked this time, hiding his head in his shell to let the bowl fly over him.

"I do not write fanfiction. I came across it while surfing the web, okay? Urban dictionary. It has some amusing terms."

As the turtles chatted, Myka finished dressing Raph's wound. "All done. And I'm not perfect, Raph. Though I'm flattered you think so." She stood, cleaning the blood off her hands with the damp cloth from earlier, which didn't really help matters, since it was already soaked in blood. "Um, where can I go clean up?" She asked, looking around.

"Well, there's the kitchen back there," Mikey pointed towards one of the doors. "And the bathroom is that way. Depends on how clean you wanna get." He finished, pointing in another direction.

"Thanks," Myka responded, heading for the bathroom, unsure what to expect.

[+- ••]

While Myka was in the bathroom, Raph turned to his blue-banded brother. "So, what's our next move?" He asked. "When are we gonna trash some more Kraang?" He punched his hand for emphasis. "I could use a bit of a challenge about now."

The lead turtle shook his head. "/You/ aren't going anywhere for a while." He informed the injured turtle. At Raph's scowl, he added, "Give it a couple of days at least."

Donatello chimed in, "Besides, we aren't going anywhere else tonight anyways. So just relax, okay?"

"I'll ask Claudia if she's thought of a way to stop this thing for good yet." Pete offered, retrieving the Farnsworth from his pocket. "Why don't you guys get some rest? I napped on the plane, but at least one of you needs rest." He looked directly at Raphael for that last sentence.

"Are you calling me weak?" Raph asked, trying to sit straighter. A movement that elicited a yelp of pain. "I'm not /weak/." He countered, sitting back down with a pout.

"No, but even superheroes need to rest after a match like that." Pete responds. "It's been a long day. How about you relax and get some sleep? I'll call Claudia for an update." He looked to the girl. "April, right? Do you live here, too? If not, you should be heading home."

She looked around. "Until we stop the Kraang for good, this /is/ home." She informed him. "These guys are like family." Pete could understand that. It's how he felt about his Warehouse family.

With a nod, he looked around. "Uhh, speaking of… you think we can crash here tonight? I don't think Mykes would be up for another trip through the sewers tonight."

Raph grinned. "Oh, if her highness can't handle the sewers alone at night, then by all means, it's not imposing at all." His eyes were on the bathroom door, where Myka had just been stepping out. "Myka Sue finally need a rest?" He called over to her. "Here I thought she ran on batteries or something."

Myka stopped, mid-step. She took a deep breath, counting to ten to avoid giving him the satisfaction of getting mad. He was just a kid, she reminded herself. "Thank you." She answered sweetly. "It's appreciated. After taking down the Kraang and those mutants; not to mention you, I could do with a nap." Petty? Maybe a little. But he deserved it.

"Cheating must be downright exhausting." He countered, glaring daggers at her. If she'd given his weapons back to him, she'd probably have a sai flying at her head about now; if not two.

"Ya me!" Splinter commanded. "Raphael, that is no way to treat a guest."

"But she started it!"

Splinter towered over his student. "It is not who started it that is important, but who finishes it." Raph cowered a little with a murmured 'Hai, sensei.' The sentient rodent turned his attention to Myka. "And you. You are twice his age. And a guest here. For someone supposedly 'perfect', your manners are lacking. Raphael? Him I expect to lose his temper over something stupid. But you are an adult. You should know better than him." His voice was commanding and chiding. Even Pete cringed at Myka's chastisement.

Sucking up her pride and her temper, Myka bowed at the martial arts master, blushing furiously from embarrassment. "I'm sorry. You're right. I let my temper get the better of me."

"It is not me that you should apologise to." Splinter commanded, gesturing down to his student.

With a soft sigh of surrender, Myka walked up to the turtle. "I'm sorry for losing my temper. I know it's not an excuse, but I'm just worn out today. That last battle took a lot out of me." She added as a salve for his pride.

"Yeah, whatever." Raph waved her off. "You got lucky. And cheated." Splinter hit him over the head with the side of his staff. "I mean, apology accepted. And thanks for treating me after." Raphael quickly corrected. "And… to be honest… it was a fun match." The last part was so quiet Myka couldn't be sure she heard him correctly.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?"

"I said thank you for fixing my leg." He answered loudly, refusing to admit the last part a second time.

Leonardo placed a hand on his injured brother's shoulder. "Perhaps we should turn in. It's been a long night." The rest agreed.

Myka was about to inquire about sleeping arrangements, when the other turtles just plopped down on the couch to sleep. Splinter went back into the practice room, his bedroom was just beyond. Mikey picked up a duct taped teddy bear to snuggle with. Donny snuggled with his bo. Leo just sprawled out on one of the beanbag chairs that sat near the television. "Ookkaay." Myka shrugged, looking for a spot on the couch not covered in turtle. Finally spotting a place at the end, she sat down. It was actually pretty comfortable.

April went to the turnstile and retrieved the bag of groceries. "Feel free to just crash anywhere. It's what they usually do. Tire swing is mine, though." She noted on the way to the kitchen.

Pete lay down next to his partner, using her lap as a pillow. She frowned down at him, but didn't push him off. She also didn't warn him when she shifted to get more comfortable, kicking him in the side 'accidentally' in the process.

"You /really/ sure you two aren't an item?" Raph asked from his spot on the couch, earning him a kick from Pete, who was closest to him. "Alright, alright. I was just making an observation is all."

April came out of the kitchen after putting the groceries away, and smiled at the scene. One big, happy (if strange) family. "Night, guys." She said quietly, before climbing into the tire swing in the far end of the room. It hung over a pool (or more specifically a water outlet to the rest of the sewer), the light flickering on the water helped her sleep. Plus she was far enough away from the turtle's snoring. Myka watched the other female curiously. She seemed so at home with these guys. Then again, Myka was at home with even stranger than mutated turtles. So she wasn't one to talk.

. 0-0  
. (°v°)

.(0)\##/(0)

After the turtles and that /woman/ left, then the cops came and went, DogPound and FishFace returned to the lab to retrieve the inductor coil. The lab was still a mess, but the coil (as well as the foot soldiers and Kraang corpses) had already been moved. With an enraged growl, the giant, pale yellow dog man slammed his fist through the plexiglass wall. Now they had to return to face Shredder's wrath as failures.

. \_\_\ ^(°/^\°)^ /_/_/  
. " " " " , , " " " "

"You failed me. /Again/." The Shredder strode up to the cowering mutants. He fit his name impeccably. He looked like he could shred a human being easily. Spikes lined his helmet, shoulder pads, and arm guards. Silver chest plate covered a deep purple tank which ended at an indigo sash; matching deep purple pants ended in purple boots under spiked leg guards. A cape finished his super villain ensemble. He raised his fist menacingly at his minions. "You dare return to me /empty handed/?"

"They weren't alone, master." DogPound, formerly known as Chris Bradford, noted meekly. "They had help."

Shredder pointed a spiked arm at his pupil, the sharp point extended towards the cowering canid. "So did you. You had /two/ armies at your disposal. Yet you still managed to disappoint." Bradford whimpered as Shredder continued in a mocking tone, eyes gleaming with fury above his silver face mask. "You can't hold your own against a teenage girl and a bunch of turtles?"

FishFace (formerly know as Xever) piped up, his Urbonic-Latino accent wavering. "They had outside help!"

Shredder turned his scathing eyes on the purple fish man. "What did they do? Invite their bunny buddy over for a play date?" His voice was a mocking growl. "Or maybe it was some frogs…"

DogPound gave a quiet growl. "They were humans. With guns and…"

Shredder gave an icy laugh. "Humans with /guns/? Against an army of Foot clan and Kraang; not to mention the two of you? Give me one good reason not to kill you both right now."

"It was the Kraang's plan! They're the ones who failed! We were following your orders and letting them lead." DogPound defended.

"And that is the only reason you're still alive right now. Remember that."

[0°•:]

The familiar 'Bzzt Bzzzt' of the Farnsworth broke through Myka's dream, shattering it into shards soon forgotten as she woke. She reached groggily towards the sound. "Ughn…" She groaned, not wanting to wake up yet.

"I got it." Pete announced, sounding less tired than Myka felt. A sudden chill passed over her as Pete sat up. She really needed to get him a pillow. As Pete answered the Farnsworth, Myka looked around. Raphael was still asleep, curled up where she left him. Michelangelo was still out, too, sprawled across another spot on the couch and snoring away. Leonardo was nowhere to be seen. Neither were April or Donatello.

Myka sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Is that Claudia?" She asked, looking over to her partner.

"Yeah. She found a way to short out the electrowhatzits the brainbot are building." He handed Myka the open Farnsworth. "She wants us to do something to the coil. But I have no idea what she's talking about."

Myka looked down at the communications device in her hand. "Hey, Claud. Did you try dumbing it down for him?" Myka asked teasingly, looking to Pete then back to the screen. "On second thought, maybe not. What do you need me to do?"

"Why don't you just give the spyPhone to Donny. He's the tech geek. Technobabble is his first language." Raph suggested, still in the same position, but now watching the human pair. "And I still say you two make a cute couple."

There was a thud as Mikey fell from his bizarre position across from them. "Nah, her girlfriend might not like that." He concluded, climbing to his feet.

"Girlfriend?!" It was tough to figure who sounded more surprised, Raph or Myka. "Since when did I have a girlfriend?" She asked, looking expectantly at Pete for an answer. "And why would they think I did?"

Pete rubbed the back of his neck. The girl on the other end of the Farnsworth chuckled. "You and HG, I'm guessing." Claudia shrugged. "You could do worse than HG Wells, that's for sure."

Raph shook his head, not in the mood to play into the goth girl's games. "I think Donny is in his lab," he pointed towards one of the side rooms. "Why don't you take that gizmo in there and let them technobabble. It saves me having to listen to it."

Myka looked at the temperamental turtle. After having had some sleep, she couldn't believe she had been as cranky as that last night. She made a note to reign in her attitude better. "Right." She stood up, heading for the room Raph pointed out.

"So, who won?" Claudia asked, as Myka walked into the large lab and knocked lightly.

"Won what?" Myka asked absently, looking around for the purple masked turtle.

"The rumble in the jungl… um… wherever you guys are." Claudia clarified. "You and the turtle. Who won?"

Sighing, Myka shrugged. "I did. But I went a little overboard. He needed stitches."

Claudia gave a little victory dance. "Chyeah girl! The queen of badassery strikes again."

"Can you not?" Myka asked, still feeling guilty over the trouble she caused. Not seeing the turtle she was looking for, she called out for him. "Donatello?" A garage door at the far end of the lab opened; the tallest turtle came in, wiping his hands on a purple washcloth.

"Oh hey, Myka. How's Raph?" He asked, setting the cloth on a table.

"As ornery as ever." Myka answered, holding up the Farnsworth. Able to see the room, Claudia let out a low, impressed whistle. "He suggested you'd be able to understand Claudiese enough to adapt the coil. Claud has an idea to sabotage it, and the device they're making with it."

Donatello looked at the communicator with interest. "You know, I was just thinking the same thing. I was thinking if I switch the current oscillation…" Myka handed the Farnsworth to Donatello.

"Don't dismantle the Farnsworth. But you two can get on with it. I'm going to go check on Raphael's leg."

"Started going cross-eyed from all the geek-speak, weren't you?" Raph asked as she came back out to the main room. "It's alright, happens to the best of us." It seemed her inability to follow the two geniuses was enough to redeem her in his eyes.

"Yeah. I leave the tech to Claudia. That's more her area…" Sitting back down, she looked around. "So, where's everyone else? Leo and April? I'm guessing Splinter is still asleep…"

"You kidding? Leo and April have been training with Splinter for an hour already." He gestured to his bandaged leg. "I'd be in there, too. But I'm off training today."

"Sorry again." She murmured. "Wait, what about Pete and Michelangelo? They were just here." Sure enough, the two foodies were nowhere to be seen.

"I'll give you a hint…" But before he could add anything else, Mikey poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Who wants Pizza Omelettes?!" He asked, wearing a chef's hat and apron. Quite a silly sight, it actually made Myka giggle. A sound she quickly stifled.

"I'm guessing Pete's with you…?" Myka asked, getting up to follow into the kitchen. Raph cleared his throat, and she turned, watching him try to get up. "So /now/ you want my help. When food's involved."

He shrugged. "You're not /that/ bad. And Mikey's pizza omelettes are worth the humility to ask for help." She held a hand out to help him up, and this time he let her.

Supporting his injured side, she helped him walk to the kitchen. "You guys are all the same, mutant or not." She teased, lowering him onto one of the stools surrounding the table.

"I'll take that as a compliment." He looked towards Pete and Mikey who were setting out eight plates. It actually smelled incredible. "Then again… grouping me in with Mikey is just insulting."

Mikey pouted. "Hey! And after I slaved all morning over this hot stove for you!"

"Uh, Mikey, you woke up twenty minutes ago." The red masked turtle countered.

"Yeah, and that's when my morning started."

Myka sighed. During a fight, it was easy to forget that they were still kids. Sitting at breakfast with them, it was hard not to see it. Besides the reptilian features, they could be any family of teenage boys. "Something smells /amazing/." April commented, entering the kitchen with Leo and Splinter.

"Should someone get Donatello?" Pete asked, putting an omelette in front of each of the three new arrivals.

"He'll be done in a minute." Leo assured him.

Myka looked to him expectantly. "I don't know. He was working on something really complex." She suggested.

Without saying a word, Leo counted out. 3… 2… 1… and pointed towards the kitchen door. Nothing. He tried again, and again nothing.

"I told you, he was doing something complex with…" Myka started, only to be cut off with Donatello's entrance. "…Claudia…" she finished lamely. "Well, that was fast."

"Claudia is pretty awesome. She had some fascinating ideas. She also had some suggestions for an anti-mutagen. So master Splinter can become human again, if only temporarily. But we finished sabotaging the coil. We exchanged numbers to discuss the anti-mutagen later." He sat down at the table with everyone else. Myka was pretty sure only she, April, and Splinter had paid any attention to what the genius turtle had said.

"Any idea how to get it into the hands of the Kraang?" Leo asked, taking a bite of his omelette.

"Actually, yes. Claudia hacked into a few databases. All we have to do is get it to the address she set up, and pretend to stop them." He looked to Myka warningly. "Key word there: pretend. They need to take the coil this time."

Myka shrugged. "Solution. Raphael and I sit this one out. He's injured."

"If we don't have our best fighters there, it'd look suspicious. Raph's injured. So it'll slow him down. You just don't go berserker on us this time, it'll be fine." Leo commanded.

"Fine. Just keep those brain things away from me." She warned. The turtles exchanged a cautious look. As they finished their breakfast, they planned their attack.

.. |

"Are you sure they're gonna show?" Raph asked, sitting impatiently on one of the lab's spinning chairs. Michelangelo was using the other one to spin on.

Donatello looked down at his tPhone. "Any time now, guys. My calculations say the Kraang will hit this lab tonight."

"Let's hear it for the human calculator. Only… you're not human, are you?" A gruff voice asked from behind them. Startled, all six of them leaped to their feet, weapons at the ready. Myka held her katana, having opted to leave her gun at the turtles' lair. Pete was still armed with his Tesla.

"No, we're turtles." Michelangelo answered. "You're not very bright. I figured our shells would have told you that."

The rest of the turtles facepalmed, Myka rolling her eyes. "They aren't, but we are." She took a step towards them.

Not seeing her gun, DogPound grinned. "Finally decided to play fair, huh?" He punched his palm in warning. "Ready to get pounded?" He asked, taking a swing at the woman.

She blocked with the sword, the impact shaking her up to her shoulders. Another swing from his enormous paw knocked her to the ground. "Not so tough when you don't have your pea-shooter with you." He taunted. "You're just a pitiful girl."

She fumed, rolling to her feet as he swung down barely missing her. "I'm just getting warmed up." She warned.

As she faced down DogPound, FishFace lead the Foot and a group of Kraang to face down the turtles and Pete. Raph still favoured his injured leg, sais at the ready. Donny, Leo, and Mikey gave it their all, fighting the small army with everything they had. They had to let them escape with the coil, nothing was said about letting them all escape unscathed.

Pete zapped as many of the Kraang as he could, taking them out in groups of three or more. "The one who is the human male has the amount of chance that is none against the power that is superior to the one known as the human male held by the beings known as the Kraang."

"Uh…" Pete scratched his head. "Mind saying that again?" He asked.

Donatello was pushed back by a Kraang bot, close enough to Pete to translate. "'You can't defeat the Kraang's superior power'."

"Giving up already, Donny?" Pete teased, zapping the smack-talking Kraangbot. "We could totally beat them."

Donny extracted a Kraang brain from its housing. "That's what the Kraang had said." He told Pete, who simply gave him an 'are you kidding?' look. "And you knew that." He sighed, turning his bo against another Kraang.

"Uh, yeah, I did." Pete answered. Holstering his tesla, he retrieved one of the alien guns. "This is definitely more like it." He called out, shooting the aliens gleefully.

"What /is/ it with you humans and shooting things?" Raph demanded, blocking an attack from one of the Foot soldiers. "Is hand-to-hand combat really that offensive to you?"

Pete looked at the turtle, down to his bandaged leg, and grinned. "Nope. I just like shooting things."

Michelangelo used his nunchuck's chain to grab one of the robots, slamming it into a group of other ones. They shook a moment before all the Kraang-brains fled. Seconds later, the pile exploded. "Booyakasha!" He cheered, doing a little victory dance.

"Celebrate later. When it's over." Leo commanded.

Mikey ignored him. "Who da man? That's right, I'm da man." Another Kraang bot fired an energy blast at him, barely missing his head. "Maybe I'll celebrate later." He jumped back into the fight.

"Good idea." Raph added, taking down another Kraang bot. His limp was becoming more pronounced, and he was pulling his stitches. "Pete? Toss me a gun." He sighed, begrudgingly taking a seat.

~~{°{{}}°}~~

While the battle raged, two of the Kraang bots found the inductor coil, intent on sneaking out with it. FishFace lead the way out, stepping back to guard them as they loaded the coil into a white van. "C'mon. Grab the girl and let's go." The fish ordered. DogPound grabbed Myka's arm, knocking the blade from her hand. Spinning her around, he clamped his hand over her mouth. Effortlessly, he lifted her up and carried her out with them. She was tossed into the back of the van with the coil, before the villains sped off in a squeal of tires.

\_/

The turtles finished off the remaining Foot and Kraang. As the last of the brain menaces scurried away, Donatello looked where they'd hidden the coil and grinned. "Worked like a charm. Now when they activate it…"

"Kaboom?" Mikey offered.

Donatello patted the shorter turtle affectionately on the head. "Exactly. Kaboom. Another Kraang plot foiled."

Raph scanned the mess, noticing their missing comrade. "Uh, guys? Where's Myka?" He asked.

(=O=O=)

Myka bounced with each pothole the van struck, banging into the side of locked door.

After god knows how long —it felt like forever— the van stopped and the doors opened. She kicked the first person to reach into the van, eliciting a yelp —then a growl— from DogPound. "I've got someone I want you to meet." He informed her, voice a vicious warning growl.

"Sorry, I'm booked up for the day." Myka told him, trying to squirm out of his incredibly strong grip.

"Looks like your schedule just cleared up." He dragged her out effortlessly, gesturing into the van with his head. "Bring it in." He told a couple of Foot lackeys, before taking her through the glass doors of a high rise building.

They rode the lift in silence to the top of the building. Past a heavy pair of towering doors, and into a dimly lit chamber. It reminded her of a throne room, complete with the throne atop a dais at the far end. The path from the door to the throne was covered in a dark carpet, to either side of it was a thick glass floor beneath which was some sort of aquarium. Were it not for the danger she was in, she might've been impressed with the decor.

A man in a ridiculously spiky costume walked up to them. DogPound dropped her, pushing her to her knees before who she could only presume was the big bad. "So this one little woman is the one who stopped my whole army of Foot soldiers…?" He asked, entangling his hand in her hair to yank her to her feet. "What is your name?" He demanded, forcing her to face him by using her hair as a reign.

Groaning in pain, Myka glowered at him. "Myka…" She answered, glad she and Pete had left their badges and IDs with her gun at the turtles' lair. "Langelo." She finished sarcastically. It was probably best he didn't know her real name.

He yanked hard on her hair. "Do you expect me to believe you share the same name as one of those freaks?!" He demanded, his fist coming dangerously close to her face.

She did her best to shrug while keeping her balance on tiptoes to relieve the pressure on her hair. "The kid seemed pretty impressed when he found out, too." She answered at least mostly honestly.

"Father, let me try." A young woman's voice asked, almost and aggressive as her supposed father. Some people just should /not/ have kids.

"Very well, Karai." He swung Myka by her hair, throwing her to the ground at the feet of a teenage girl. She was maybe a year or two older than the turtles. Though, to be honest she never found out the turtles' actual ages, either. Still, she couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen.

Dressed very much like a spikeless version of her father, Karai was decked out in silver and black. Her hair was very short, a do Myka was contemplating if she got out of this. At least partly contemplating. The girl cracked her knuckles. "You're the turtles' new ally, huh?" She asked, taking on a fighting stance. "Get up."

Myka blinked dumbfounded at the girl before her. She was practically half Myka's age. /So is Raph…/ She reminded herself. She got cautiously to her feet, brushing herself off and smoothing out her hair. "I don't want to fight you." She said, hands out before her in an attempt at a placating gesture.

"That's a shame…" Karai shrugged before grabbing one of Myka's outstretched arms and flipping her. "Because I still plan to kick your butt, whether you fight back or not." With an icy grin, she added, "I just thought it'd be more fun this way."

/What IS it with kids these days?/ Myka wondered, rolling away from a punch to the face. "Okay, just chill out." She commanded, reaching for a weapon she'd left at the lair. Damn.

"But beating up on things /is/ how I chill." Karai answered, taking another swing at the agent. Myka again dodged, still refusing to fight back.

"You really need a better hobby." She suggested, barely missing a high kick. "Try racquetball."

"I like the one I have, thanks." Karai informed her, knocking her to the ground with a reverse leg-swipe. "Hitting people around the room is so much more fulfilling than hitting balls."

Myka rolled out of the way of a stomp to the face, pushing herself up to her feet. She was still sore from the fight with Raph the day before, and being pummelled by another ninja kid wasn't helping. "Try knitting…" She suggested, blocking another punch. "Or origami."

"I'd rather fold people into knots, not paper." Karai countered, pulling a short sword from a sheath at the small of her back. It was maybe a third the overall size of Leonardo's katana, but just as deadly. In one fluid movement, she unsheathed and swung the blade at Myka.

Myka fell backwards, away from the oncoming weapon. The men simply watched the fight, keeping well out of the way. DogPound and FishFace both stood close to the door, waiting hopefully to be dismissed. Shredder watched his daughter fight with a father's pride. /And I thought my dad was tough growing up./ She muttered to herself, dodging another swing.

(===)€

"Well, her sword's still here." Leo noted, picking up the discarded weapon from where it'd fallen. "Do you think the Foot got her?"

"I know it wouldn't have been the Kraang." Pete offered. "There'd've been WAY more screaming." At the look the turtles gave him, he simply shrugged. "It's true. She hates tentacles."

Michelangelo nodded sagely. "Don't blame her. Those things are nasty. And they /bite/! I always thought it was the other way around. The monsters ate the brains, not the brains /are/ the monsters!"

Pete shook his head. "That's only Zombies." Leo, Raph, and Donny all facepalmed.

3(===)

"You're not too bad. Why are you working with the turtles, anyway?" Karai asked conversationally, as she made another swipe for Myka, this one waist height.

Myka let Karai in for the stab, shifting her weight to the side at the last moment. A long slice welled up with blood along her left arm, but she was close enough to turn the girl's arm against her. Using her size as an advantage, she yanked the blade from Karai's hand and held it against her neck, pinning the girl against her. She'd have rather had her back to her, as it was a better defence against biting, but this would do.

"I'm not working with the turtles. I was investigating the thefts. It's my job to stop them." She explained. "If the turtles get in the way of that… they're as expendable as your pet werewolf over there."

"Enough!" Shredder commanded, stepping forward. "Put her down." Myka didn't loosen her grip. "Put her down /now/." He repeated.

"Try saying please." Myka suggested, to the astonishment of DogPound and FishFace.

Shredder growled but asked nicely, albeit through clenched teeth. "/Please/ release her."

Myka smiled, but didn't let go. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I said please, now /release her/!" Shredder demanded, taking a step towards them. Myka's grip tightened, the blade resting precariously close to the girl's neck. A thin indent formed, a tiny drop of blood welling up against the blade's edge.

"I will. Once I'm out of here." She was usually on the other side of a hostage situation. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Do you really think we'd let you leave?" His eyes narrowed. "Either kill her or let her go. But do /not/ waste my time."

"I have a better idea." Myka thought a moment… "What if I help you get the turtles? I already incapacitated the red one." She had no intention of following through, but she was willing to play double agent for a while if it got her out of there.

As if reading her mind; "And how can we be sure you'll do as you promise?" Shredder asked, genuinely fascinated by the seemingly wavering ethics of the woman. "What do you propose?"

"You don't. But your daughter will be safe, as will I." She shrugged slightly, still keeping her hold on the teen. "Win-win you ask me."

"What do you propose?" He repeated impatiently.

"I'll 'escape', and lure the turtles into a trap." She suggested.

"Or I can use you as a hostage." Shredder countered. This was getting her nowhere.

She shook her head. "No dice. You let me go, I let her go and lead you to the turtles. The red one and the purple one are already injured. You're welcome. Shouldn't be too hard to get them all."

DogPound looked astonished when Shredder sighed heavily, but agreed. "Very well. We have an agreement. Bradford, step aside. Let her go."

DogPound shook his head. "You aren't really going to let her go, are you?!" He asked in shock. "She can't be trusted!"

"This coming from a cowardly dog and a ghetto koi?" Myka countered, making her way to the door with the struggling Karai in tow. "As soon as I'm outside, I'll let her go." She promised.

The mutants stepped aside, letting the women pass unimpeded. Myka smiled coldly at the dogman as she passed. "Thanks for the invite, but I really /must/ be going." She told him with a wink.

The lift down took forever. Myka half expected them to try to stop her. But they let her pass. "They'll kill you when your usefulness ends." Karai warned, looking up at the older woman. "Probably as soon as you let me go."

"No, they won't." Myka assured her, pushing the girl through the lobby. The Foot members kept a safe distance, upon seeing their master's daughter held captive.

The girl scoffed, "What makes you so sure?" She asked.

At the first breath of fresh air, Myka let out a sigh of relief. Using the hilt of the weapon, she hit Karai on the base of the neck just to the side of the spine, knocking her out. After making sure to check for a pulse, Myka lowered the girl to the ground and darted into an alley. She needed to get away, but to where? She didn't have the Farnsworth, and had no idea where she even /was/. Choosing a direction, she ran. She ran as long as she could, thankful for all the exercise her job gave her.

Coming to a row of shops, she stopped just out of reach of the streetlight to catch her breath. God, how she missed pay phones sometimes. Everything was closed, but it was at least a landmark. And she could break in, if worse came to worst. According to her watch, it was already well past midnight now. She prayed she'd come across a 24hour shop, but one never came.

As a last resort, she made her way down a subway station entrance. There was hopefully a pay phone there. She sighed with relief when she saw one. When she got up closer, she saw the cord was cut long ago, leaving it useless. The other three next to them were in equal states of disrepair.

"Well," she said softly to herself, "there's always the sewers." It wasn't ideal. Especially when she had no idea where she was going and had no torch. But it was better than sitting there getting caught again.

Stepping cautiously around the side of the station, she hugged the wall until she came to a maintenance tunnel. She stepped into total blackness, feeling her way further into the tunnel. Her only consolation was that if she couldn't see, chances were anyone tracing her wouldn't be able to without the aide of a torch, which would make spotting and ditching a tail easy. She hoped.

(=o=õ=)£

The turtles got to the rooftop across from Shredder's hide out in time to see DogPound carrying Karai's unconscious form inside. Leo had to fight the urge to jump down and help her.

Mikey had other thoughts. "Guess Myky can handle herself after all…" he suggested, watching the scene below. "Against Karai, too. That chick is /awesome/!"

"Keep it down!" Donny hissed, pulling Michelangelo away from the edge just as some Foot soldiers glance their way. "Do you wanna get caught?"

From below, they could hear DogPound's voice. "Fan out! I want that girl caught!"

Pete patted Mikey's back. "Looks like you were right, man. Now how do you suggest we find my partner before they do?"

Leo stood up, wind whipping the tail of his mask as he opened his mouth to start a long Space Heroes worthy speech. Noticing, Raph got up, putting his hand to Leo's mouth. "Skip the monologue. We've gotta find Myka. But we're too exposed out here. How about we go back to the lair and have Donny whip up some tracker-gizmo?"

Michelangelo nodded a bit too emphatically. "Yep, and while he does that… I think it's time we got some grub."

Pete looked over the edge at the search parties being organised. He hated abandoning his partner, but the turtles were right. Plus Raph would have time to rest his leg, it was already bleeding through the bandages again. "Sounds like a plan. Donny, can you make a tracker for Myka?"

Donatello seemed a touch taken aback. "I- I can try. But it's not like tracking turtles or Kraang. She's one human in a city full of 'em." Noting Pete's face fall he quickly added, "But I'll do my best!"

"Shh!" Leo warned. "Let's go before one of you get us all killed." Nodding in agreement, they made their way back to the sewers. Pete and Raph slowed them down a bit; Pete due to not being accustomed to rooftop hopscotch and Raph due to his injury. His bandage was already a deep red, and the wrappings around his ankles were beginning to stain, too.

(=*u*=)

Once safely back in the lair, and Raph's leg was rebandaged, Pete grabbed the Farnsworth and set the katana next to Myka's badge and ID. He quickly called up Claudia. "Claud, Myka's been kidnapped." He told her, skipping the formalities like saying hi. "Is there any artefact that could track someone?"

Claudia was taken aback, but recovered quickly. "There are, but I'd advise against them. Most of them are fatal." The clack of her computer told Pete the hackress was working. "I have an idea. I have a copy of Myka's EEG readings. Brainwaves are like fingerprints, they differ between people and change over time. Put my turtle twin on, I think we can make a Myka Tracker."

Pete nodded. "Donny? It's for you." He held up the Farnsworth for the purple turtle to take.

Donatello grabbed the device. "Heya, Claudia. You have an idea for tracking Myka?"

"I just might. How well do you know EEG machines?" She asked. Donny snapped his fingers in excited realisation.

"Brain waves! That's brilliant! I can build a portable, long range EEG machine. Oh! I'll put it in the Shellraiser. That'll make carrying it easier." Donatello replied excitedly. "You have a fairly recent scan?" He asked the girl on the screen.

"From her latest physical. It's about a month old." She answered. "I'll send them to your email."

Raph groaned in annoyance. "D'you mind taking the Donny-speak somewhere else? Preferably where I don't have to listen to it…"

Claudia raised a brow, giving Donatello an amuse smile. "Someone sounds crankier than Myka without her daily infusion of coffee."

Michelangelo piped up, leaning over Raph from the raised level behind him. "Maybe we should get Raph on a coffee register." He suggested.

"Wrong word, Mikey." Leo remarked from his seat across from them. "I think you mean regimen. But it could help."

Claudia's voice commented from the communication box. "Or his withdrawal could make him a million times worse. Trust me. It's scary."

Mikey looked taken aback. "That's even /possible/?'" He sounded downright incredulous. "I don't believe it."

Pete walked over to his 'turtle twin' as Claudia had phrased it and placed a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Think Myka. Then think Myka after seeing the Kraang brains."

"Oohhh…" The thought sunk in and the orange clad turtle shuddered. "Yeah. We are /never/ giving Raph coffee. Ever."

Raph gave a devious smile. "Maybe I'll have April pick some up, then. It sounds like fun." Mikey shrank back in terror.

"You're kidding, right?" He whimpered. "/Right/?!"

Pete sighed. "I'm sure Splinter wouldn't let him have coffee. I don't think it's good for turtles."

—–-–-–—

As the others discussed coffee, Donatello took the Farnsworth into his lab to work on the 'Myka Tracker'. He was sure Mikey would come up with a name for it later, so he didn't try getting creative with a title. "Any suggestions on amplifying the scan radius? Brainwaves only transmit a few feet, max." He queried, picking up a piece of electronic equipment.

"If you were here, I'd suggest a trip to the Farnsworth aisle. Trust me, it's like every Christmas ever, rolled into one." Claudia suggested, then sighed. "What've you got there? I'm guessing a PKE meter is a bit too much to ask…?"

"It's not quite a PKE meter, but I do have a EM scanner. I built it when I figured out what the Kraang were up to. I could reconfigure the scanner to search for electric signatures specific to brainwaves. From there it's just a matter of picking up the right brainwave."

Claudia nodded, spinning in her chair exuberantly. "Perfect. Now to hybridise it with the EEG machine to filter out the right brainwave signature."

Picking up a soldiering iron, Donatello grinned. He rather enjoyed having someone on his level for once.

—••••••••—

"Maaannn… can we get lunch while Donny's making that… whatever it is." Michelangelo asked, his stomach grumbling audibly. "I could totally go for some butterscotch and pineapple pizza!"

Pete's brows furrowed. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Afraid not." April informed him, stepping through the turnstiles with Splinter. "Wait until they have liquorice, jelly bean, and jalapeño. Or worse."

"It gets /worse/?!" Even Pete was looking like he'd lost his appetite. And that was quite an accomplishment. "What? Anchovies and Turnips or something?"

Michelangelo tilted his head in contemplation. "Hmm, I'll have to try that."

April chuckled. "How about something normal? We have real food, too. For me and Splinter."

Pete nodded. "As long as it's real food, yes please." He looked to Michelangelo and shook his head. "I can't believe there's someone out there with weirder tastes than me."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Mikey commented. "Now how about we go get some yum?" He asked, jumping to his feet and hurrying to the kitchen. A moment later, he popped his head out, "You coming, Pete?"

Pete looked between the turtle and the human girl, wondering if this was some elaborate prank. "Sure. Just… real food." He requested as he followed his turtle twin into the kitchen.

~~{=={^•

Myka wandered the dark, dank sewers for she could only guess how long. It was close to pitch black, even after her eyes adjusted as best they would. She made a note to invest in a light up watch, if and when she got out of this.

The scratching of rodents made her sigh. "Don't suppose any of you rats know the way back to the turtles…?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. All she got in reply was a few squeaks. Having no idea which way she was going, she just had to pray she wasn't heading back towards the Shredder and his minions.

{^°\_/°^}

While Donatello worked in his lab, the remaining turtles, as well as April, Pete, and Splinter, sat in the main area of the lair with a lunch of normal pizza. They agreed on pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeño. Which at least were normal pizza toppings (not to mention actually tasty for all of them).

Pete didn't have the appetite he usually did. His partner was missing  
and in danger. She knew she wasn't supposed to get into danger without him! Every few minutes he looked towards the lab hopefully. Each time he saw nothing and looked back down to his pizza. Noticing this, Splinter placed a hand on the agent's shoulder, causing him to jump.

"You cannot make my student work any faster by willing it to be so." He warned gently. "I'm sure your partner will be fine. She is tough enough to handle herself against the Kraang, the Foot, and my pupils, she can handle herself in hiding, as well."

Pete looked to the rat, amazed with himself that he wasn't screaming about being touched by him. He shrugged. "No offence, Splinter, but how would you feel if one of the turtles was out there instead of Myka?"

The ninjutsu master sighed. "I would probably be as impatient as you are. But I would also appreciate others' words of comfort."

"I'm sorry. But the only words I want to hear right now are Donny saying–"

Just then, Donatello came bursting from the lab. "It's ready." He told them excitedly. "Everybody who's coming, to the Shellraiser."

Pete pointed, "that." He looked back at the techy turtle eagerly.

"Uh, that's my line, Donny." Leonardo told him, getting to his feet.

"Does it really matter?" Raph asked, climbing carefully to his feet. "Let's just go save the damsel in distress!"

Leo raised a hand to his injured brother. "Not you, Raph. You stay back with Splinter and April."

"No way!"

"I'll tell her you called her a damsel in distress." Pete shook his head. "But seriously, you're hurt. We'll make sure Myka gets back for a rematch, I promise." He told the turtle, who —at the nods of agreement from everyone else— sat back down with a 'harrumph'.

"You'd better." Raphael warned as means of begrudging agreement.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Pete asked, "And what's the Shellraiser?"

"It's like the turtle equivalent of the Batmobile." Leo explained, leading the way towards the lab, and the garage beyond.

"Yeah, only /way/ awesomer. And with a totally cooler name." Mikey elucidated. "/I/ named it. So of course it's a cool name."

Pete smiled at the kid. "It really is a cool name." He agreed, following the teens. The Shellraiser stood just beyond the lab. A converted subway car, Mikey wasn't lying when he said it was cool. The outside was covered in colourful graffiti; it had a blaster on the roof, a battering ram on the front, and giant monster truck wheels on the sides. Inside the van was even cooler. It looked like something from a Claudia Donovan fantasy play book. Computer console, weapons station… it was like a Space Heroes ship. It even had a soft serve machine! "Wow… this… is… epic…!"

"Isn't it just?" Donny beamed. "Built it myself."

"Buckle up guys. Pete, you can take tactical since Raph is out of commission." Leo commanded, climbing behind the wheel. "Let's go save your girlfriend."

Pete rolled his eyes. "You mean /partner/." He corrected.

From the science station, Donny laughed. "They do that all the time. Usually I'm the butt of their jokes, though. Calling April my girlfriend."

With a raised brow, Pete grinned. "You mean she's not?" Donny facepalmed.

"Can we just go find Myka now?" The tech asked. "We'll implement a grid pattern, to expedite our chances of finding her before the Foot do."

"Yeah, what he said." Michelangelo nodded, clearly not understanding a word of it.

"Just follow the directions I put into the nav-screen." Donny chided.

Mikey saluted. "Can do!"

[(O)[||](O)^\

Myka stopped for a breath, completely exhausted. Leaning into the wall, she let her legs give way. She had no way of knowing exactly what time it was, or how long she'd been walking, but she had to be a safe distance by now. Unless she'd been running around in circles. She tried not to think of that scenario.

There was no denying it, she was lost, and scared. Not to mention filthy, tired, sore, alone, and hungry. And the cut on her arm was throbbing now that the numbness of adrenalin wore off. She sat in the dank darkness, arms holding her knees tightly towards her. For all her prowess and brilliance, she was still at a loss.

Exhaustion finally completely overtook her, much to her dismay. Try as she might, she couldn't stay awake any longer.

She woke who-knows-how-long-later, to sound above her. A deep rumble of a large vehicle passing overhead roused her from slumber. She curled up tighter, worried it was the Foot, back for more. In her current condition, she'd be in no state to defend herself.

The vehicle stopped overhead; almost directly overhead, actually. Straining her hearing, she listened for the deep growl of DogBreath or FishFace. A metallic scraping sound told her that someone was opening a manhole cover. She pressed herself further into the darkness, as a hint of light shone down from the vehicle's headlights. After so long in darkness, it was almost blinding; she had to squint to see a man-shaped shadow climb down the ladder.

She clung to herself, burying herself into the shadows as best she could. "Mykes?" She heard the familiar voice ask. Hardly able to believe it, she moved a little closer. "Mykes, if you're down here, let me know. If not… well then don't I feel silly…?"

Myka couldn't help the inane laugh that escaped her. One part nerves, three parts exhaustion, broiled over a simmering heat of relief. The laugh blended into a giggle, and she painfully climbed to her feet. "How about a little from column A, and a lot from column B?" She suggested as she tried to leap into a hug. It turned out more like falling into him from exhaustion. "How did you find me?"

Pete caught his partner as she fell against him; he could see how worn she was. He didn't blame her one bit. "I'll let Donatello explain that one. It's mostly in Claudese." The Warehouse agent nodded, clinging to her partner as he carried her up the ladder.

(=°u°=)€

Myka slept through the trip back to the sewer lair, so she didn't get to see how far she'd actually walked. And in the wrong direction at that. It was probably a good thing, honestly. Curling up in the corner, she snored softly, finally getting a real rest.

When they got back, Pete carried her into the lair and lay her on the couch. Raph sat up with a smirk. "You two seriously aren't together?" He teased, earning a pillow flung at his face.

"Drop it, aright?" Pete insisted quietly. "She's out of your league, anyway."

Raphael looked taken aback. "I didn't say /I/ wanted her. I was just saying you did." He shook his head and looked away. "She's not even my type."

"Yeah, she can beat him." Mikey teased, the following yawn making his comment a bit less mocking than it should've been. "Can it be nap time yet?"

Leonardo nodded, stretching. "It's been a long day. I think we all could do with some shut eye." The leader agreed. "Night, guys."

{[=====]}

The first thing to come to Myka's attention as she woke was her smell. It was atrocious. Her stomach growled for attention, too. There wasn't anything she could do about the smell in her clothes, but she could at least wash up. A heavy weight was holding her in place and for a moment she panicked, rolling off of the surface she was lying on. She and her human blanket landed on the floor with a thud, and Pete complaining with an "Ow" before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Quietly as she could, Myka made her way to the bathroom to clean up. The sounds of martial arts practice drew her attention to the punching dummy that hung across the main room from her. Raph was beating it, keeping his moves and voice hushed. She hasn't noticed before, but the dummy was dressed to look like Shredder, complete with makeshift spiky helmet and spiked arm guards made out of grill tongs.

Keeping quiet, she watched a while as Raph worked his injured leg to keep it limber. "Next time you won't be so lucky." He warned her, turning to look at her with a smile. "Glad we get another chance to spar, though."

"Let me clean up first." She agreed. "Then I'll show you that luck had nothing to do with it." He scoffed and went back to practicing. She locked herself in the bathroom to wash up.

(°:*•

Pete woke up on the floor, Myka nowhere to be seen. After a moment's worry that it was all a dream, he spotted her practicing with Raph. It wasn't another knock-down-drag-out fight like the first one, however. This one was more an exchanging of moves, way more friendly an encounter than last time.

"Morning, Mykes." Pete greeted while he climbed to his feet with a sleepy groan. "I hope you got /some/ sleep."

She smiled over to him. "I slept fine. It was the waking up that got me. You really need your own pillow." She suggested, trying to one-up the spinning roundhouse Raph just did. Just because they were friendly didn't mean they couldn't have a bit of friendly competition. "You drooled on me again." Behind her back, the turtle gave him a mocking look.

"I'd suggest investing in a muzzle." Raph joked, trying a complex move to two-or-three-up Myka.

Myka looked to him, then to Pete, then back to him. "That's actually not a bad idea. Oh! I'll have Claudia make one that'll zap him every time he drools, too."

Raph laughed. "If you do, see about getting her to give Leo one that'll zap him every time he spews Space Heroes quotes."

"Hey! Space Heroes is a great show!" Both Leo and Pete said in unison. They looked to each other and did the special Mindstrom's greeting. Raph and Myka rolled their eyes.

"Like I said, mutants or not, guys are all the same." Raph frowned and gave her a shove.

"I am nothing like that." He refuted. "I think Space Heroes is brain rotting crap."

"That makes two of us." Myka agreed.

—E { } ==—

The agents stuck around for breakfast, and to make sure the Kraang plot failed. After the proverbial fireworks —which looked more like a series of small explosions as the gyroscopic electromagnet shorted out— they had lunch at the turtles' favourite hangout spot. Pete and Myka had visited it the day they first arrived, shortly before meeting the turtles et al. It was only a couple of days, but it felt like eternity.

Pete and Myka then said goodbye to their new mutant friends, and headed back to the hotel to finally change in time for their flight home. After the excitement of this case, coupled with them not even ending up snagging anything, it felt like way more than three days.

"One more pizza for the road?" Myka suggested lightly as they got to the airport. "Coconut and sour cream maybe?"

Pete gagged. "I think I'm all pizza'ed out for a while." He commented, looking a little green around the gills. "I seriously crave pizza no more."

Myka shrugged, "I guess some good came out of this then, snag or no." She teased.

The smell of pizza wafted from the pizza line as they passed the airport cafeteria. Pete sniffed slightly, stomach making 'I want' noises. "Well, maybe /one/ pizza." Myka rolled her eyes, but followed her partner.

She waited while he got himself another two personal pan pizza. "I knew it was too good to be true." She teased as they made their way to the correct gate.

"What? These are tiny pizzas." He complained, finishing one in a single mouthful.

/[_||_]\

They stepped into the B&B exhausted. Even Myka slept on the plane this time. Artie was going over a new case with the other two agents, Claudia and her partner Steve Jinks. Jinksy, as he was affectionately called. The conversation effectively ended by the tech and her BFFEWHLION turning all their attention to Pete and Myka.

"Welcome back!" Claudia jumped into a group hug, gesturing her partner to join in. "Glad they found you." She told Myka. "Then again, Donny is almost as competent as I am. Shame he's a turtle."

"And fifteen." She warned, Claudia's face fell.

Claudia shrugged "I'm gonna live a long time. I think the turtle thing is worse."

Pete gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. "Besides, he's got a girlfriend. His own age."

Jinksy gave a raised brow. "You're not lying." He commented in surprise. "I don't know whether to be impressed that a /turtle/ can get a date, or depressed that he can and we can't."

"April isn't actually his girlfriend. It's more an Artie/Vanessa situation." Myka corrected. Artie cleared his throat. "Sorry, if Vanessa only saw Artie as a brother."

Jinks gave a sympathetic sound of pain. "Ouch. Poor kid. Hope it works out for them. From how Claud talked about them, they deserve a good life."

Claudia nodded, letting go of her friends. "They really do. They're good turtles." She confirmed.

"More than that, they're good people." Myka added. "Besides the shells and green skin, you couldn't tell them from any other teenage kids. Well, any other teens with a martial arts master for a father."

"What kinda friends did you /have/ growing up?" Pete asked teasingly.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, yes. Welcome back, glad you're in one piece, yadda yadda. Can we get back to work please?" Artie figured they'd had enough time to chat. There were still pings to take care of. "Claudia and Steve were about to go out on a snag. Hopefully to actually bring back an artefact." He gave the returning agents a stern look.

"There wasn't an artefact to snag, Artie." Myka tried to explain. "The anthropomorphising effect was caused by a mutagenic compound from another planet or dimension or something. We stopped an alien invasion, after all."

"And you left it there?" He asked. "To have more people turned into animals?"

"One, the turtles didn't have access to the compound. Two, from how it sounded, the Kraang could just make more if they wanted." She argued. "And three? We were busy trying to save the world from an evil alien plot. Thankyouverymuch."

Myka snapping at him took Artie by surprise. Pete just gave him an apologetic smile. "She's had a rough couple of days. I think we both need some rest. Reports can wait." He put his hand on his partner's shoulder, leading her towards the stairs. "Oh, and Claud, there's an alien gun in the trunk for you to play with. Don't kill anyone with it." With a yawn, he waved to the second A Team and Artie. "G'Night guys."

"Ooh! Alien gun? Shaweet!" Claudia said, sounding like a kid at Christmas.

Steve, in attempt to play interference (and distract his bestie from extraterrestrial weapons), held his file folder up. "So… Snag. Santa Barbara, right? What was it? Haunted pineapple?"

Sufficiently distracted, Claudia shook her head. "Nah, it was Santa Monica. Vampire making artefact."

"Lost Boys reference? /Nice/." Jinksy commented, high-fiving her.

"Okay. Enough! Yes, Santa Barbara. No, not a haunted pineapple. Can we focus now?" Artie demanded, getting back to the case.

[O°•:]

Dressed in new bandages, Raph crossed his arms and plopped down on the couch. "She never did give me that rematch." He complained.

Mikey sat upside down next to him, feet on the upper level, and looked up at his grumpy brother. "We all miss 'em, Raph." He answered, hands locked behind his head to support his neck.

Donatello came out of his lab, phone in hand. "Santa Barbara? Sounds exciting. And sunny."

"Well, most of us, anyway." Michelangelo frowned. "Think April will get jealous if she finds out about Claudia?"

"Jealous?" April sat down on the beanbag chair, and opened her laptop. "Why would I be jealous? Maybe now he'll be distracted by his new girlfriend."

Donny frowned, "Keep me informed of your progress. I gotta go pummel Mikey now." He glared at the turtle in question. "Okay. Bye." Hanging up, he stashed his tPhone in his belt and turned to his brother. "I'm not replacing April. Claudia is just my friend. I finally have someone who speaks my language."

"Yeah. Because one geek isn't enough." Raph countered.

Leo laughed, working out at the Shredderised dummy. "You just miss Myka, admit it." He teased. "Someone finally cracked that hard shell of yours."

"She owes me a rematch, that's it. I do /not/ have a thing for her."

Mikey flipped off of the couch and grinned. "Since she totally schooled you, does that mean you've got the hots for teacher?" He ducked the projectile pillow that followed the comment.

"Put a sock in it, Mikey. Or we'll tease you about your 'snacking buddy'." Raph warned.

Michelangelo stood, nodding sadly. "I do miss Pete. His taste in food was a little bland, but he made up for it in badassery."

Splinter strolled out of the practice room to watch his students. Things were back to normal. Or as normal as they could be. But he could see they missed their new friends. "Isn't it about time you went on your nightly patrol?" He asked, hoping to distract them from missing the agents.

"Trying to get rid of us?" Raph asked in jest. "Or are even you tired of Mikey's blabbering?"

"Even though they are far away, the agents are still your friends." Splinter told them. "And they'll be back when they can. For now, you simply must get on with your lives." As almost an afterthought, he added, "Besides, there's always the Internet and the phone to keep in touch. As Donatello has proven."

"Hai, sensei." Leonardo agreed. "We should probably go on patrol. Raph, stay here and keep April company." He commanded. "The less you rest it, the longer it'll take to heal."

Grumbling, the hotheaded turtle begrudgingly agreed. "At least save some heads for me to bash when my leg's better."

"Will do." Leo promised as he and the other two turtles headed out.


End file.
